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By: Benyamin Davidsons
As tipping season comes to a close in New York City, let’s take a peek at the tipping habits of the well-to-do.
We all have those who help us year-round and who expect and deserve an extra thanks during the holidays—whether it be drivers, school teachers, lobby attendants, sanitation workers, mail carriers and etc. Besides for deliberating on who needs to be tipped, there is also the more difficult question of how much to give. For the city’s most fortunate, however, gifting and tipping runs wild — and can total over $50K, a well-connected Upper West Sider told The NY Post. “A solid tip from a wealthy person is $1,000,” said the source, who wished to remain anonymous. “You would tip your trainer a full month’s bonus. You would tip your dog walker a full month’s bonus. And that goes down to the newspaper delivery man, the mailman, your manicurist, your hair stylist, your chauffeur, your bodyguard, your secretaries, your staff … anybody that provides any kind of service to you.”
Monica Elias, the CEO of her namesake New York media and branding company, also told the Post of the high costs of tipping. “The list grows every year,” Elias said. She said she will be tipping or gifting “well over 100 people” this holiday season. The list includes clients, but also those who help her on her path. She said she makes the extra effort of hand-writing a personalized card for each recipient, expressing her gratitude. “Some people feel the pain in their pocket,” Elias says. “I feel the pain in my fingers because I’m writing all these letters and notes.”
Per the Post, socialite and philanthropist Jean Shafiroff, says she is tipping at least five dozen people this holiday season. This includes the 10-person staff at her Park Avenue building, as well as her housekeepers and cleaners at her homes in South Florida and the Hamptons. Switching off between two homes, means double the tips. Typical tips for her list include cash, champagne, or Hermès scarves. “If someone has been helping you all year — like your hairdressers, plural; because I work with different ones in [different] places — it’s a way to give back,” says Shafiroff.
For her, the list also includes stylists, makeup artists and fashion sales assistants who help bedazzle her at all the charity gala events she attends. “For charities and the boutiques where I buy clothing, I send a box of 72 chocolates,” says Shafiroff. “But for the sales people I worked with all year at Carolina Herrera and Oscar de la Renta, I give a money gift.” Also, there are the nannies, tutors, and those who care for her two dogs, who receive tips.
Per the NY Post, power lawyer Arthur Aidala also spoke of the growing expectations in tipping. He tips cleaners, auto mechanics, delivery men, parking garage attendants, and sanitation workers at the holidays. “Not that long ago, I used to carry a bunch of
$5 bills, then it went to $10 bills, then it went to $20 bills,” he said. “And in terms of people who you regularly see, like a parking lot attendant or a doorman, I think if you give them less than $50 it’s almost insulting.”
